Anytime anyone supposedly finds a “lost book of the Bible,” my reaction is exactly the same: automatic dismissal.
It goes against the very fabric of everything that I believe to think that God intentionally left something out of Scripture. Jude 2 even says that the faith was “once for all delivered to the saints”; how could he say that if there were still things left unsaid?
One book that has supposedly “been found” is the “book of the Wars of the Lord.” In 2018, a “North Texas Wedding Guitarist and avid admirer of the Dead Sea Scrolls” allegedly discovered the hidden location for this book in the middle of a private Bible study.
I have very strong personal feelings against “discoveries” like this, primarily because I think most of them come about either due to delusion or a desire for fame. I’ll leave that on the table for now.
What we can be sure of is that this book was known to the people in Numbers, but is unknown to us. According to various traditions surrounding the book, the Book of the Wars of the Lord describes the victories of God’s people against their enemies. The name comes from the first few lines of the book, as is common with Hebrew writings.
The brief excerpt in Numbers 21:14 is a small geographical note, but most scholars believe that the majority of the book is song-based. That would make sense considering the Hebrews proclivity for using music to remember important moments in their history (see: the Book of Psalms).
Numbers 21:17-18 follows this same line of thought. The “Song of the Well” is especially joyous—ironic, considering their tendency to whine about everything.
But here, the people praise not only their leaders but also the availability of water that they desperately craved. Wells signify ownership, so this section also foreshadows God giving them land.
Moreover, the phrase that is used in Numbers 21:17—“Then Israel sang this song”—is also used in Exodus 15:1, when Israel sang after watching God destroy the Egyptians in the Red Sea. It’s no surprise then that Numbers 21:21-35 follows this song with a description of God’s victory over Sihon and Og.
Many songs in Scripture (like these two in Numbers 21 and Exodus 15) are reminders of God’s military leadership over all the enemies of the Lord, which is precisely why there’s an entire book called “The Book of the Wars of the Lord,” and why so many believe it to be a songbook. When the people sing it, they remember God’s providence.
Is it any wonder why King David, arguably the greatest military commander in Israel’s history, was also known as the “sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1)? Who would be more aware of God’s presence and His victories than David?
That’s why we sing, too. In Ephesians 5:18 and Colossians 3:16, Paul talks about singing heartily, and doing so as a group. This isn’t because we “should” like music, but because we remind ourselves and each other of what God has given us. We sing to strengthen our faith, not to entertain ourselves.
We’re not there yet, but that’s going to be the focus of the book of Psalms. The hymnal of Israel wasn’t just poetry, but poetry set to music. It was sung so that they could remember it.
When I sing with my local church, I’m not just mindlessly rattling off words (or, at least I shouldn’t be). I’m “teaching and admonishing” each other (Colossians 3:16). I’m “offering up a sacrifice of praise from my lips” (Hebrews 13:15) that reminds me and everyone else of what God has done. Worship is for God, but I grow from it, too.